Skyfall
by Sparky She-Demon
Summary: After losing a game of riddles to Sif, Loki is forced to agree to taking on an apprentice. Hanna is a pyrokinetic whose abilities are out of control. Even though he'd rather have no apprentice at all, Loki makes Hanna the offer. Desperate for control over her abilities, Hanna agrees. *starts roughly 80 years prior to the first Thor movie and will run alongside it*
1. Don't Get Over Confident

**Chapter I: Don't. Get. Over. Confident**

**A/N: This my jump into the Thor fandom. I would love to thank MsMarvel21 for all of the help she's provided. Open to ****concrit****. Enjoy the first chapter! Sparky She-Demon**

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Sif was used to being underestimated. When she first started her training to become a warrior, she not only suffered ridicule, but most men treated this as a passing obsession for her. Until Thor introduced her to the Warriors 3, she didn't really get opponents that would actually teach her properly.

Unfortunately, with the introduction to the Warriors 3, came the introduction of Prince Loki. For the most part he ignored her. Other times, when the mood struck him, he could be particularly snide and callous. Sif preferred his silence.

"Keep moving your feet, Sif. Standing still in battle will only make you an easy target." Volstaag growled in her direction, before continuing, "You wouldn't want to attract unwarranted attention."

"I do believe you are right, Volstaag," Loki said. "You would never want to attract unwarranted attention." In a moment of her venerability, he swung the mock weapon in her direction, knocking her to the ground. "It's dangerous." He added with a crooked smirk on his face.

###

The day came and went and nightfall was creeping into Asgard. Lady Sif walked along the now crowded street towards the most popular tavern. It was Thor's favorite, so the Warriors 3 and herself ended up there one way or another.

There had been a small rainstorm earlier, making the dirt between the cobblestones in the road turn to mud. It seeped through Sif's sandals as she wove her way around a few very tall men. A dark cloak hid her identity as she entered the small hole in the wall bar. She easily slipped past the guards at the door, who were probably there because of Thor.

As she entered in, the smell of mead and men filled her nose. It was a scent she had become accustomed to. Thor was not hard to spot. He was sitting up at the bar, a large frosty glass in one hand and his infamous hammer next to him on the counter. He was talking to a few men and the moment, probably about battles or war. Only the Norns knew.

Fandral, on the other hand, was seated at a table not too far from Thor. The seats were all filled with swooning women, which did not come as a surprise to Sif. For some reason, women were always attracted to him. Some say he possessed magic, but Sif knew better. Any real talent he had was with a sword, she would give him that.

Volstaag and Hogun were not in her sight as she approached Thor. Fandral gave her a nod as she passed by. She returned it as subtly as she could. Thor peered up from his glass to meet Sif's eyes. "Well, it is about time!" He boomed, causing some of the glasses on the counter to shake. "What took you so long, Lady Sif?"

Sif groaned and removed her hood. "I do not think you understand the concept of a disguise." She said, taking a seat next to him. "Disguise?" Thor asked. Clearly he already had a few more drinks than the one in his hand. "Why would you need that?" Sif rolled her eyes and removed her cloak. "Last time we were here, I got into a fight, which is still your fault, and I was told not to return to this place."  
The memory was coming back to Thor and he let out a laugh. "Oh, how could I have forgotten? You broke a glass mug over that guy's head!" Sif couldn't help but smile. "He said that women cannot fight." Thor let out another laugh and patted Sif on the back, nearly sending her off the bar stool. "He got what he deserved."

"You forget your own strength, oaf." A quiet voice said. Sif turned her head and her jaw dropped. Before her stood Loki. Never before had she seen him join in this "barbaric merriment" as he called it. "You almost sent the lady across the room." Thor looked puzzled, but then grinned. "Loki! What are you doing here?"

That really was the question though. Loki was always up to something, and trouble followed everywhere he trotted. "You invited me, do you not remember?" Loki asked.

Sif could feel the spite in his voice as if it were a tangible presence. "Loki, he is drunk." Sif informed. Loki's eyes moved from Thor to Sif, causing her to shiver and look away. They were unnaturally green, and always made her feel uncomfortable.  
"When is he not drunk?" Loki mused, finally looking away from Sif. "Oh, come on brother!" Thor shouted. "Live a little!" Loki looked annoyed as his brother's boisterous behavior. "What are you doing in a place like this, my lady?" Loki asked, taking a seat near Sif and Thor. "I should be asking you that myself." She replied.

Loki's eyes pierced hers again but this time she didn't look away. "This is not the most ideal place for you, now is it?" He said. _What the devil was that supposed to mean_, Sif thought. "Neither is the battlefield, yet alas, there I am." She retorted. "But where are you, Loki? When we practice, you are hardly ever present. Isn't that where a real man belongs, on the battlefield?"

Loki was a sorcerer, spending his days learning magic. Men on Asgard picked a trade or they fought, and that was basically it. Magic was looked down upon here, probably because it was feared and mysterious. Loki was not good with a weapon, other than a dagger, making him look like less of a man. Which he hated. "At least when I fight, Sif, I am not distracted." Loki's eyes fluttered to the unobservant Thor, and then back to her.

Anger welded up inside of Sif. "How dare you suggest that?" Sif hissed at him. Loki only smiled. "I may not be the best fighter, but I am intelligent." He said with a smirk, before continuing with,

"Compared to me, you are no more intelligent than a gnat."

Not rising to the bait in a manner that would please him, Sif decided to try a new tactic instead of arguing with Loki.

"You like a good game of riddles, do you not Loki?"

"I am known to partake in them from time to time," the insolent lie-smith smirked before asking, "What are the stakes?"

Thinking carefully for a moment before replying, Sif said, "If you win, I will not insult your preference for magic over weaponry…" She trailed off, unsure of what to do next.

"In the unlikely event of you winning this game Lady Sif, what would you have me do?" The grin he had made her want to smack it right off his face.

Remembering something that had been brought up in the past, Sif smirked saying, "You will have to take on an apprentice to train if you get _one_ of the three riddles I come up with wrong."

Loki's eyes narrowed. That was _not_ something he wanted to do, though his mother had been suggesting the idea with greater frequency. But if he won, there would be nothing to worry about.

"I could do this with my eyes shut and without even trying. Give it your best, _Lady_ Sif."

It was a good thing that Sif had three riddles in mind, one she was pretty sure he'd get wrong.

"_Here goes nothing,"_ Sif thought before asking, "I only point in one direction but I guide people around the world. What am I?" Before she could even take a breath, Loki replied in a bored tone,

"It's a compass. Give me the second one."

"Some try to hide, some try to cheat, but time will show, we will always meet. Try as you might, to guess my name, I promise you'll know, when you I do claim. Who am I?"

This time she managed to get a breath in, before Loki responded, "Death." Before Sif could start the third one, he sneered, "These riddles are child's play. You're only digging yourself into a deeper hole. Give me a decent riddle."

Having sat on this riddle for last, Sif smirked before asking, "Oh clever Lie-Smith, answer this riddle: What is at the heart of everything?"

For the first time in long time, Loki was stumped. What the devil was the answer?

Thor had been watching the game of riddles with great interest, especially now that his brother appeared to be stumped. He hadn't seen this happen two centuries at _least_.

Sif had a most wicked grin on her face when she saw that Loki didn't know the answer.

Loki glared at her, he knew that he'd lost. But he wasn't going to beg. "I have better things to do than this," he growled before shoving past the guards.

As Sif sat down, Thor gave her a grin and said, "Good work Sif. It's been a very long time since someone has bested my brother at a game of riddles."

Sif returned the grin before replying, "Well before I possibly get thrown out of this establishment, I did come down here for a reason. We're going to Vanaheim for the Yule celebrations." She'd been noticed by a few of the idiots from the previous incident, and they were making their way over, _again_.

Fandral had come back saying, "If I recall correctly, the Vanir have a strong talent for magic. More so than in any of the other realms. Perhaps Loki will find his apprentice while we are there."

The idiots were back and raring for a fight. Sif went to draw her sword. When it didn't come out, she tried yanking with both hands. It still wouldn't budge.

As she drew a dagger from her boot, Sif thought,

"_Damn you Loki!"_

###

Hanna was just finishing up a book from her father's library. She must've read every book he had on magic several times over to try and learn anything about controlling her magic abilities.

Hanna was a pyrokinetic. Thankfully, she was a member of a family line that was strong in the art of magic. Her younger brother was a telepath, her father could use telekinesis. Her two oldest sisters, Ingrid and Ebba, had magical talents lay with precognition and healing. Astrid, the sister that was immediately older than her had very limited magical talent. It was one of the many reasons they did not get along very well.

Her magic was also not under the best of control. There were times where Hanna could be both a danger to herself and/or others. And they were becoming more and more frequent. Being "gifted" with elemental magic was rare, even in a family like hers. More often than not, elemental magic was seen as more of a curse, as it was particularly difficult to control.

As she placed the book back on the shelf, Hanna heard a slight cough. Turning around, she saw one of her father's guards, Alarik.

Nodding at him to continue, Alarik said, "My lady, I've come to escort you to your father's study. There are things he needs to discuss with you, your brother, and sister. I've come to bring you.

As they were walking towards her father Sven's study, Hanna asked, "Alarik, do you have any idea why my father is asking for all three of us?"

"I do not my lady. But it may have something to do with the letter he got from your uncle, the king."

That got her attention quickly. Her father rarely got letters from his older brother, King Haakon. While they had a reasonable relationship, it was common knowledge that their father had nearly changed the order of succession so that Sven, her father, would be heir to the throne. Her father had managed to talk his father out of it, saying that it would be better if he was advising Haakon, rather than Haakon advising him.

Once they got to her father's study, Hanna noticed that her brother and sister were already there, and sitting on opposite sides of the room. Their father was not there yet. Rolling her eyes, Hanna went and sat by her brother. That was another thing that she and her sister disagreed on. Their mother had died in childbirth with Ragnar. So, Astrid _still_ blamed Ragnar for that, as wrong as she knew it was.

###

Sven sighed when he saw how his children were seated in his study. Despite the centuries, some things just never changed. And they more than likely wouldn't.

Getting down to business, Sven walked into the room saying, "Now that you're all here, I suppose that I should tell you why I called you all. I received a letter from your uncle."

All three of them nodded. The guards that had brought them there had shared that detail. And despite their best efforts, the guards wouldn't share any further details.

Sven continued with, "We will be going to his home for the Yule celebrations this year. What makes this year different from the previous times is that we will be hosting a group from Asgard for the duration of the festivities."

Sven watched his children's reactions. Astrid was obviously pleased, since it would give her a chance to show off more than usual. And to a larger audience. She left quickly to plan what how she would go and do just that.

Ragnar was excited for an entirely different reason. While the armory at home was well stocked, he always liked learning about different weapons and how they worked among other things. At his uncle's place, there would be a plethora of weapons Ragnar had only heard about, but never seen. There would also be books on telepathy, that Ragnar would pore over. He too left the study with some excitement in his step.

Hanna had always been the hardest of his children to read. But Sven could tell that Hanna was every bit as excited as her brother and sister. She had always loved when they'd travelled, even if it was just to her uncle's place. Hanna also loved the stories he'd told them about his adventures from when he was younger.

But there was one more reason that he was grateful that Hanna was the last to leave. As she got up to make her way back to her rooms, he asked,

"How is your control at the moment Hanna?"

Hanna wasn't too surprised that her father had asked her that question. It was something he asked her on a recurring basis. Her issues with control were common knowledge among the family, it wasn't something that needed to be advertised to others. When in a bad mood, Hanna could become a safety hazard to both herself and others.

After thinking for a moment, Hanna replied softly, "It's as good as ever, maybe a little bit better. As long as I keep my temper in check, there shouldn't be any issues."

"And if there are any issues?" Sven asked.

"If there are, I will find a way to leave the area as soon as possible." With that, Hanna gave her father a slight nod with her head and left.

Sven hoped to whoever was listening, that Hanna did not have any flareups with her abilities. For both her sake and others.

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**A/N 2: What do you guys think?**

**OC face claims:**

**Hanna: Katie McGrath as she looked in Merlin**

**Ragnar: Richard Madden**

**Sven: Gabriel Byrne**

**Astrid: Hayden Pannetiere**


	2. Playing with Fire

**Chapter II: Playing with Fire**

**A/N: Took a bit longer than I anticipated, but here's the next chapter of Skyfall. Thanks go out to MsMarvel21 and theicemenace for their beta work on this chapter. Enjoy! SSD**

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Now that they were at their uncle's place and had rested up a bit, it was time for both Hanna and Astrid to start to get ready for the night's feast. They gave each other as wide a berth as possible, since they'd been in forced proximity for the duration of the trip to their uncle's home.

Hanna looked at the possible dresses she could wear. There was the deep blue dress that would make her eyes seem even bluer. Then there was her dark green dress with the gold embroidery. The third dress was a silvery blue dress. It was the newest of the three, and she hadn't had a chance to wear it just yet.

Hanna smiled. The silvery blue dress would go perfectly with that sapphire necklace of her mother's. That necklace was the focus of one of her few clear memories of her mother before she died.

After donning the dress and the servants laced it up, Hanna went to find the necklace herself. She just hoped Astrid didn't get to it first.

Just as Hanna picked up the necklace and was about to put it on, she heard a sneer from the doorway saying, "I'm wearing that tonight."

Taking a deep breath, Hanna turned around and countered with, "I got here first." And once she took in her sister's yellow dress, Hanna snarked back saying, "Besides, it'll go better with mine than yours." She placed the necklace reverently on the table next to where she was standing.

"I'm the older sister. I get first pick of our mother's jewelry," Astrid snarled.

"To you, it's just stones and metal. Something to be coveted. To me, it's a tender memory of our mother."

Hanna bit her tongue at that. Showing that kind of weakness to Astrid was never a good thing.

With a cruel smile, Astrid suggested, "Well since both of us can't wear it, we could always break it in half and both wear the two pieces."Astrid snatched the necklace off the table near Hanna. Holding it between her hands, she pulled it taught, straining the silver links in the chain. The sapphire center was eye level between the two of them.

Hanna turned ashen at the thought of the necklace breaking. As much as she wanted to wear it herself, the alternative was unthinkable. "Astrid, that's all I have left of mother's!" she cried.

Astrid smirked as she tightened the chain around her hand. "Then what a shame it would be if it was to break then. All because you were to selfish to share it with me."

Hanna glared at her sister as she made her final decision. "Fine, take it then!" she snarled as she turned around to hide her emotion.

###

"_It is truly fascinating the things the servants know. King Haakon must talk around them as if they were deaf._" Loki thought as he slipped around the castle unnoticed and invisible.

Something that he'd heard was that the current king's father had nearly changed the line of succession so that his younger son, Sven would be king. While Haakon was not incompetent, his younger brother probably would be a better king. But Sven, it seemed, had talked his father out of doing that, saying that it would better to have him advising Haakon rather than having Haakon being the one doing the advising.

This was also an easy way of sensing magic signatures. Most everyone, even the servants seemed to have a standard level of magic potential with a few exceptions in either direction.

His thoughts on magical signatures brought him back to the fact that the king did _not_ seem to know when to keep his mouth shut about his family. Not that it mattered to him. Apparently his youngest niece Hanna had been having issues with her magic abilities. The servants whispered that she was a pyrokinetic, a rare find even in a family as strong in magic as her own.

Smirking to himself, Loki made his way back to his rooms.

"_Let's see what the girl does. Perhaps tonight will turn out to be interesting after all."_

###

Hanna was doing her best not to glare at her sister too much. As Hanna figured, while the necklace still looked good on Astrid, it clashed a bit with her yellow dress. And as always, Astrid was getting a _lot_ of male attention. Right now, she was talking with one the Warriors 3.

"_Looks like Fandral. He's a charmer, if even half the stories told about him are true."_

Hanna and Ragnar favored their father with their inky black hair and blue eyes. This meant that they stood out in the crowd of normally fair haired Vanir. Ordinarily Hanna liked the fact that she stood out in the crowd, but tonight it only made her uncomfortable. She felt eyes on her constantly. And most of the times she'd turned around tonight, it had been the younger prince of Asgard watching her. She had the feeling that she was being watched again.

Turning around, she noticed that Prince Loki was watching her again. And when she didn't look away from him, he smirked. Rolling her eyes, she went back to her food. She hadn't done anything to court his attention. She had the feeling that she was not about to lose his attention.

Dancing was the one thing she enjoyed about gatherings like these. She never had a shortage of dance partners.

As Hogun led her out to the dance floor, Hanna took note of a torch that her sister was sitting near. She would remember that for later.

###

After participating in several dances, Hanna felt like her feet were about to fall off. Astrid was sitting down now as well, talking and flirting with every uncommitted male who happened to cross paths with her.

Hanna knew that she needed to find an excuse to leave the feast and soon. Her anger was bubbling up and she did _not_ want there to be an incident, especially given their visitors.

Though before she would leave, she and her brother would have one dance. It was a tradition they had. She scanned the room with her eyes, catching a glimpse of him as he slipped out a side door.

"_Come on Ragnar, hurry up. I need to get out of here…"_ She was prevented from thinking on this further when she heard a cough behind her. Turning around, she saw that her brother was in fact behind her. Holding his hand out he asked, "May I have this dance, with the only woman that does not have to worry about me stepping on her feet?"

Hanna snickered slightly, "Who am I to refuse such an offer." She got up as her brother led her out to the dance floor. It was a simple waltz, a dance that both of them had long since mastered.

After going through a few of the moves on the floor, Ragnar asked, "Has anyone been watching you tonight? Or has anyone caught your eye?"

As Hanna did her own move, she rolled her eyes before replying, "As a matter of fact yes, someone has been watching me tonight." She gave Ragnar a look that said she didn't want to continue the conversation.

Choosing to ignore Hanna's look of warning, Ragnar teasingly asked, "Well who is it, Hanna?"

Knowing how protective Ragnar could get when men showed an interest in her, Hanna started with, "First off, little brother, I have done _nothing_ to attract his attention." Taking a deep breath, Hanna continued with, "Prince Loki seems to be watching me like a hawk. Why I'm the one he's watching, I'm sure I don't want to know."

After seeming to think for a bit, Ragnar replied, "My dear sister, you are the most beautiful woman in the room. Even more so than our sister Astrid. Perhaps that is the reason His Royal Highness seems unable to look away, and therein lies the source of her jealousy."

Hanna scoffed at that before saying, "Astrid is jealous of my abilities, dear brother. It is her belief that she should have been given the power to manipulate fire. My looks have less than nothing to do with it."

"You've got to stop comparing yourself to Astrid. You are very beautiful."

Hanna had to smile at that before saying, "You eel, when did you become so smooth?"

Again, her brother replied with a smirk, "Practice I guess."

As they did the final spin, Hanna was facing the doorway. She then saw something that shocked her to the core. Her _brother_ was standing in the doorway, looking for her.

Pushing away from her dance partner, Hanna hissed angrily, "Who _are_ you?"

Her partner turned around and saw that Ragnar was back. "Damn, I thought he would take longer." He had an unnatural smirk on his face when he turned back to face Hanna.

Barely keeping her anger in check, Hanna quietly snarled, "Who the devil are you, so I know who ask my brother to give a good beating?" He'd done that sort of thing in the past, and wouldn't hesitate to do it again, to protect his sister.

"I think you would prefer your beloved brother to _not_ get into trouble." As he was saying that, there was a green shimmering light, and who she had thought to be her brother turning a lot taller and a lot lankier. Her irritation and shock spiked when the transformation finished and she saw a smirking Prince Loki right in front of her.

When taking in her shock, he grinned, "Speechless are we? I tend to have that effect on women."

Glaring at him, Hanna growled, "Hrokafuller svin"and started to walk away before an idea hit her. Turning back towards the prince with an evil grin of her own, she hauled off and slapped him hard across the face, before stalking off.

###

Loki rubbed his jaw. The girl certainly had fire in her in more ways than just her magic abilities.

Instead of being angered about her slapping him, Loki was pleased that she'd stood up to him. He heard a loud, roaring laugh behind him. Thor must have seen a fair portion of the event

"You really _do_ have a way with women brother. Just not always in the way you make yourself out to be."

Loki let Thor lead him away to go get some more wine. Oh yes, the night had been _very_ interesting.

###

Motioning to a servant to pour her a cup of winter wine, Hanna took a deep quaff of it, savoring the jolt of the alcohol coursing through her veins.

A few moments later, she heard the chair next to her being pulled out. Hanna looked up to see who it was. It was Ragnar. Or so it seemed.

Done with Loki's trickery for the night, Hanna smiled fondly at her brother. "Ragnar, do you recall the day we dumped a bucket of mud over Astrid's head?"

"It was not mud, but paste. We propped the bucket above her bedroom doorway." Ragnar chuckled at the memory. "It took a full seven days for her to remove it from her hair, and she refused to leave her room the entire time. Why would you mention an incident from our youth, dear sister? Are you thinking of repeating the performance? You know as well as I that Astrid will be even less kind in her quest for revenge than she was as a child."

Taking his hand, Hanna sighed. "I had to be certain you were who you appeared to be."

"And why wouldn't I be me?"

Hanna took a deep draft from her goblet before beginning her explanation. "I was dancing with someone earlier whom I thought to be you."

Retrieving his hand, Ragnar reached for his own goblet, peering into it as if the answers to the universe could be found within its depths. "And what was it about this scoundrel that made you think otherwise?"

An impish smile crossed her lips. "It was the effortlessness with which he attempted to charm me that gave it away."

Her brother's mouth dropped open then closed with a snap. He sipped from his goblet before replying. "Are you saying I lack appeal to the fairer sex?"

She waved away her younger brother's protest. "Of course you do. But he was bold and unashamed when his deceit was discovered."

Hanna took another long sip of her wine, still berating herself for not realizing that she'd been tricked into dancing with Loki, of all people.

"Tell me his name and I'll show him the error of his ways." Ragnar gripped Hanna's free hand, lightly squeezing. "I shall thrash him within an inch of his worthless life."

One eyebrow moved upward a fraction of an inch. "As much as I would enjoy the spectacle, doing so would create a diplomatic incident that would not soon be forgotten."

Watching Ragnar try to puzzle out the identity of the man who had duped his sister, Hanna saw the moment when the answer came to him, that it had to be one of the visitors from Asgard. And with that insight, came the knowledge that there was only one person capable of such mischief.

"It was Prince Loki, wasn't it?" The calmness in Ragnar's voice did nothing to cover his anger as his eyes scoured the room for the Asgardian.

Placing her hand on his arm, Hanna said, "Please don't do anything you'll regret, brother."

He must have heard the note of pleading in her voice because his eyes met hers, softening with affection. "Because you commanded it, I will take care in how I handle this breech of courtesy with the prince. Give me a moment to take my leave, and I'll escort you to your chamber."

Hanna smiled at that. She loved that her brother looked out for her. Unfortunately, they heard a high laugh. It was Astrid, showing off the necklace.

Ragnar looked at his sister worriedly. She'd dealt with a _lot_ tonight and was probably reaching the end of her rope. Then he saw the evil grin on her face. She was planning something.

Hanna wasn't even looking at her brother. All she saw was her sister wearing the necklace that she should have been wearing. Under normal circumstances, Hanna would have been able to deal with that. Both the business with the necklace and then the incident with Prince Loki were burning her up inside.

Noticing that Astrid was still sitting near that torch, Hanna focused on the flame, and did a small waving motion with her hand and directed it towards Astrid, only intending to make her feel the heat of the flame.

Unfortunately, like with most of the cases when she used her magic, something went awry. Instead of just making her feel the heat, the flame took on shape and set Astrid's hair on fire.

* * *

**A/N 2: I know, evil cliffhanger. But it will be well worth the wait! Please tell me what you thought of it! **

**P.S- The phrase in Icelandic means "arrogant pig". **


	3. In a Bind

**Chapter III: In a Bind**

**A/N: Yes, I'm aware that the cliffhanger last chapter was evil. But it served a purpose. I would like to thank theicemenace for her beta work. Also to anyone who was used as a sounding board, thanks for the help you gave me. Special shout out to MsMarvel21 for her work as well. Italics are thoughts or flashbacks. Enjoy the chapter! SSD **

* * *

As the chaos ensued, Ragnar looked at his sister. Where there had previously been an evil smirk was replaced with total shock.

"Let me guess, you did not intend to do that?" Ragnar whispered. When his sister nodded back, Ragnar took in the situation before them. Fandral had just dumped a bucket of water on Astrid, who now looked like a drowned rat.

After receiving a look from their father, Ragnar turned to Hanna saying, "I think it's time for you to take your leave."

"A wise choice, little brother," Hanna muttered. They took a side exit back towards their temporary rooms.

Hanna knew that she was going to be in a _lot_ of trouble.

###

This night was going even better than he had expected it to. Pulled off a really excellent trick (though he'd have preferred not getting slapped), and he had found a possible apprentice to hold up his end of the bet with Sif.

Having noticed the incident play out in front of him, Thor turned to him and asked, "Is that your handiwork, brother?"

"No, it was not mine. Too out of control. Though I think I know whose work it is."

With that he left to find Lord Sven. He was going to make him an offer concerning Hanna.

On his way out of the hall, Loki walked past Sif and murmured with a smirk, "I found my apprentice."

###

This had become the absolute worst case scenario for Sven to deal with. A person with out of control magic was seen as a threat. A threat that needed to be dealt with or given the proper training to control said magic.

But masters of elemental magic were few and far between, because elemental magic usually killed those who wielded it. And those that lived usually were not the easiest to find. And when you did find them, getting them to teach someone else the craft was difficult.

"_Damn you Haakon. You're making it sound like I haven't even tried finding someone to teach Hanna how to control her magic."_

If he didn't find someone to teach Hanna and quick, the only options for dealing with her out of control magic were ones he couldn't even bring himself to consider doing. He cursed his brother for even _mentioning_ those options.

As he got to his temporary study, he noticed that Alarik seemed nervous.

"What is it Alarik?"

Biting his lip, the young guard said, "Prince Loki is waiting for you in your study. I do not know why he's there."

Sensing that his youngest guard was quite uncomfortable, Sven decided to give him a way out. "Why don't you go and see what Feykir needs done for a patrol." Feykir was the captain of his guards.

"Yes my Lord. Thank you, my Lord." Alarik left as quickly as he could.

As he entered the room, a silky voice said, "I suppose you are wondering why I am here, Lord Sven." One of the chairs near the fire turned around and Sven saw that the younger prince of Asgard sitting in it.

Sven immediately pulled out his best diplomat's face. "Your Highness. To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked with a slight bow.

###

"_Oh he is good. A challenge to see how well I can read him."_ Loki thought. He wasn't fooled by the older man's diplomat's face. Loki had overheard the conversation that Sven had with his brother, the king. The man was undeniably desperate.

Getting back to the reason he was there, Loki replied, "I'm here to speak to you about your daughter, Hanna. That was quite a show she put on back in the Great Hall." Loki allowed the barest trace of a smirk onto his face.

"I apologize if that gave you cause for concern, your Highness. My daughter has been having issues with her magic for some time."

"It would be such a shame for talent like that to go to waste. Of course, the problem for you has undoubtedly been to find Hanna a teacher."

Normally it would have taken Sven a great deal longer to lose his patience, but since he had a lot on his mind, Sven asked, "Your Highness, could you speak plainly. Why are you here?"

###

Again Loki smiled. There were times where even he appreciated getting to the point quickly. But there was still some fun to be had in delaying the main idea a _little_ longer.

"Your daughter has a great deal of raw talent, which needs proper channeling." Losing the smirk as he saw the older man make a hand motion he took to mean "Get to the point, _now_. I don't care whether you're a prince of Asgard."

Finally saying what he had come there to say, Loki stated, "Your daughter Hanna is in desperate need of a teacher. And I find myself in a situation where I need to have an apprentice. I believe that your daughter would make for a decent apprentice."

###

Sven could barely believe his ears. The man who was arguably the best sorcerer in the Nine Realms was asking him if he would allow Hanna to become his apprentice.

But this was still Loki, the Silver Tongued and Liesmith. The mortals on Midgard called him the God of Mischief for a very good reason. He always had an ulterior motive.

But given who his father was, Sven couldn't really say no to him. And they both knew it.

"If I were to allow this, what assurances do I have that my daughter's safety will not be compromised?" Sven asked. That was something he needed to think about.

Loki was not too surprised by this question either. He'd been expecting it.

"I give you my word, as Loki, son of Odin that no harm will come to her so long as she is with me."

Loki watched as an unreadable look crossed the older man's face. Sven was silent for only a moment, before saying, "Well, son of _Odin_ I will give your offer some thought. Give me a day, I will tell you of my final decision tomorrow."

"Understood." With that, Loki actually left the room without using magic.

###

"_That was too close_," Sven thought. _"It's a good thing that the conversation did not go any longer, or I might be having to worry about…_"

Sven shook his head. It hadn't gone any further and he was more than thankful for that small favor.

Massaging his temples, Sven thought of a memory that would stay with him for as he lived…

_Finally the war itself was over. The Casket of Ancient Winters had been secured and would be taken back to Asgard._

"_Damn cold, even for Jotunheim, is it not little brother?"_

_Turning around, Sven saw his brother Haakon. There were rents in his armor from the swords of the Frost Giants. Mercifully he seemed to be relatively unharmed. He'd been off on a patrol to do some mopping up._

_They may have spoken more but for an interruption from Feykir. After giving them both a brief bow, "My Lords, there has been an altercation between the Einherjar and our own troops."_

_Both brothers rolled their eyes. It would seem that even after many millennia relative peace after the Aesir-Vanir War, things would always be tense between Asgard and Vanaheim._

_Taking a breath, Haakon grumbled, "I had hoped that our troops would behave themselves." Turning to his younger brother, Haakon said, "I'll go handle it."_

_Sven nodded. He was about to do a patrol of the surrounding area on his own. Even though the Jotuns were long gone from the area. _

_He was about halfway through the circuit when he heard something that was truly out of place on a battlefield. The cry of an infant. _

_Following the sound quickly, Sven drew his sword in preparation for a fight. It was likely a trap, but it wasn't something he could ignore._

"_Stay your sword son of Olaf. You will find no trouble here."_

_Sven turned around, sword still drawn, before bowing out of reflex. It was Odin. And he had a baby in his arms. The child was blue. A frost giant._

_Finding his voice through his shock, Sven said, "The child is small for a Jotun. I can imagine why they would leave him." Even though it disgusted him. Leaving a child to die was high on Sven's list of things that should not be done. _

"_What do you intend to do with the child?" Sven asked. He hoped that Odin was not intending to kill the baby. _

"_I will be taking him to Asgard and raise him alongside my son Thor as my own. If you value your life, you will say nothing about what you have seen. Tell no one, not your father, your wife, and especially not your brother." Odin smiled slightly at that. _

_Sven nodded before replying, "My brother's tongue gets well oiled when he's drunk. You have my word. I will say nothing."_

Coming back to the present, Sven shook his head. Now was not the time to get embroiled in specters of the past. He had his daughters to deal with. He'd already come up with a punishment for Hanna. She would have to muck the stalls of the horses.

###

Hanna approached the corner of the hallway leading to her room. She was looking forward to getting cleaned up and soaking in a nice warm bath. And burning the tunic and breeches she was wearing shortly thereafter. As she turned the corner, she noticed something unusual. To her surprise, there was a small green candle sitting in the middle of the hallway. This was not the type of candle that her family typically used. They ordinarily used long tapers that would burn for hours. This candle was only about 6 inches tall but was fat. There was no base under it. It just sat there like it was completely normal for a little green candle to be found in the middle of the floor. She approached the candle with a smirk on her face. The servants had almost certainly placed it there as a joke. She occasionally would catch two or three of them in a battle to best each other. Once she even helped. The maid had successfully embarrassed a few of the butlers in front of the family, although that part was unintentional, so they conceived of a plan to get revenge. Hanna discovered the plot and quickly agreed to participate. The candle was not part of the plan, but who knew what they'd come up with on their own.

But moving it could make the whole scheme all the more fun to watch. Just as just approached the small object, she bent down to grab it. Surprisingly, it moved quickly and quietly a few inches away, just far enough to be out of her reach. Hanna straighten up and glanced around. There was no string attached that she could see. The rug definitely did not move as she stood on it as well. Looking around, she saw no one. Her eyes slide back down to the suspicious candle. She reached for it again and again, it slid a few inches away. It almost had a personality. The wick was pointing at her as if laughing, mocking her inability to pick it up. Taking a deep breath, sure one or more of the servant were watching her play this little game with their candle, she stood upright but kept her eyes on that green mockery. She listened for giggles or whispers that would tell her where the conspirators were. Instead, she heard nothing. So she stepped back and glanced down the hall from whence she came. Nothing. No one. She was _not _going to be the center of this little joke. Besides, she had a nice, long, and hot bath to look forward to.

Determined not to be made a fool of, she turned back towards her room. A figure was now at the end of the long hall, just past her room. From the distance and shadows, she could not tell if it was her brother or her father. She took in a breath to speak. The figure held out a hand immediately silencing her voice. Hanna just stared. The figure stepped forward barely breaking the light. Loki. Hanna recognized him. He had piercing green eyes that could see deep into the soul of a person. At least that is what she felt under his gaze. And his eyes were steady on her. His face was relaxed, almost amused. The corners of his mouth were ever so slightly pulled up, so small to notice that Hanna wasn't entirely sure he was smiling. Without taking his eyes off her face, he pointed to the candle sitting between them. Hanna looked down at the small wax column as it began to move towards her. She reached down again to pick it up. Just as her fingers touched the smooth wax, it retreated away back out of reach. Now she knew it was he who was manipulating her. Hanna looked at Loki. Except for moving his hands behind his back, he had not moved. His body was still as a statue. She could not even tell if he was breathing. She began to wonder if he was really there. She heard and knew from firsthand experience that he was a master at illusion and deception.

Staring at him, she concentrated on his image, looking for anything to provide a clue to the reality of the situation. He again motioned to the candle. Hanna looked at the wick, realizing that Loki wanted her to light the candle. She felt the fear and reluctance spiking in her chest. The image of her sister flashed in her mind. The flames. The screams. The close call. But this was Loki, son of Odin, the ruler of Asgard. Could she really refuse him? It was just a small candle. One little insignificant flame. So she concentrated on the wick, seeing the energy underneath the surface. Channeling her focus, a small wisp of smoke seeped from the tip of the wick. Then a spark as her eyes squinted slightly. Her fingers curled into tight fists as a larger spark sprang to life. An audible hiss fizzed as the flames exploded high into the air.

Loki smiled mischievously as he watched the strong focused expression on Hanna's face melt into panic as the flames hungrily lapped at the air, searching for something to consume. Both of her hands extended in front of her now, her mind pressed against the flame, nudging it back down towards the candle. Slowly, after what seemed like an eternity to Hanna, the monstrous flame had been reduced to a small glimmer at the end of the wick.

She stared at the dancing little flame as it happily swayed back and forth. Never before had she controlled the flame in this manner. Typically, it would grow into chaos until someone threw a bucket of water on it. Suddenly remembering she had an audience, she quickly concealed her expression of surprise and awe with a mask of confidence. Straightening her posture, Hanna proudly turned to face Loki, but he was gone. She glanced back down at the candle, but it too was missing. She was standing alone in the hallway, looking like a fool. Hanna rushed to the spot that was once occupied by her unexpected visitor, searching for clues as to where he went. Nothing. Confused, convinced that he was not actually gone, and suddenly exhausted; she sighed, pulled open the heavy wooden door, and entered her room to get cleaned up. They could probably smell her all the way in Alfheim.

Loki was indeed still there. He smiled at himself for testing her – and providing her with just enough assistance to control the fire. She was teachable. It was in her. If he _had_ to teach someone, she would do nicely. He strolled around the house waiting for her to finish getting cleaned up. She was in a horrible state during their first encounter. The smell lingered in his nose. Speaking to her will be easier once she is presentable. He played the conversation he would have with her in his mind. She would accept his tutelage, when he asked. It was going to be interesting after all.

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**A/N 2: So… What do you all think? Next chapter, Hanna and Loki will actually speak to each other. **


	4. Chance of a Lifetime

**Chapter IV: Chance of a Lifetime**

**A/N: What a fun story. I'm enjoying this one a lot! Thank you to theicemenace and MsMarvel21 for their beta work. Also could you check out Kingdom of Crowns by xxNickieHolmes221bxx. It's in the Tudor fandom. Enjoy the chapter! SSD **

* * *

As soon as she was done with her bath, Hanna decided that she would go to the library. She'd quickly dismissed the servants after giving them orders to burn the clothes she'd been wearing. Hanna wanted to bathe in private.

She felt drained, yet strangely energized. Never before had using magic made her feel like this. Maybe because for the first time in her life, her magic had obeyed what she'd wanted it to do.

After scrubbing for roughly fifteen minutes, Hanna was satisfied with how much better she smelled. But now she was just satisfied to soak. Her mind started to wander.

Why had the prince done what he did? Surely he was more than capable of lighting the candle himself. Hanna had seen the smirk on his face as she panicked to get the fire back under control.

But once she'd gotten it under control, which was a miracle in of itself, both he and candle had disappeared quickly. So quickly in fact, Hanna wasn't even sure that he'd been there at all. Or if he had been there, whether he was truly gone.

Stopping this train of thought, Hanna closed her eyes and savored the feeling of the steaming hot water on her skin. All she wanted to do was relax.

###

Hanna woke up with a shiver. Apparently she'd fallen asleep in the bathtub, since the water was now ice cold. Then again, she'd had a lot on her mind.

Scrambling out of the tub, Hanna yanked her robe on. Judging by the position of the sun, it appeared to be about 2 hours later!

"_I can't believe I fell asleep in the bathtub!"_ Hanna berated herself.

Since there were no servants around, and she didn't feel like calling for any, Hanna took out a dress that she could manage without assistance. As it would turn out, it was a green dress.

###

As Hanna made her way to the library, she heard a snuffling noise her knees. Looking down, she saw that it was Draugur, her brother's wolf.

"_That's another thing I should've noticed last night. Ragnar has acquired the faint smell of wet dog ever since he got him no matter what he does!"_

Scratching behind the wolf's ears, Hanna said, "Why don't you come with me to library? Ragnar is outside sparring. You can keep me company."

The wolf happily followed her. She was one of the few people the animal really paid attention to. Her brother and father were also among those few.

Once she opened the door to the library, Hanna took a deep breath. She had always loved the smell of books. Going straight to where a book she wanted to find on magic was, she got it, and sat in the window seat, with Draugur curled below her.

###

About fifteen minutes later, Draugur perked up and began growling. Dragging her attention from what she was reading, Hanna asked, "What is it, boy? Calm down, there is not anything there!"

Ignoring her, the silver wolf continued growling, his hackles rising. Putting the book down on the window seat, Hanna knelt on the floor trying to calm Draugur down by petting behind his ears.

"Mhmm… Green is definitely your color!"

Hanna didn't even look up. To be honest, she was not entirely surprised that the prince had gone looking for her. And as much as it galled her to owe him something, she supposed that she should thank him since…

"I suppose hearing a "thank you, your highness" is too much to ask of you," Loki smirked.

Taking a deep breath and smiling sweetly, Hanna said, "I was about to thank you, your highness. But you took the words right out of my mouth. However, I would have preferred that you were not so near to my rooms. There are those that would get the wrong idea." As soon as the words left her mouth, she immediately regretted it. Draugur was staying quiet for the moment as Loki had not come any closer

Deciding to play with her a bit, "And just what those people might have to say?" His smirk had gotten even wider.

Hanna could feel herself blush to the roots of her hair. Had he seriously just said that?!

Before she could get another word in, he continued with, "As for that show you gave in the great hall, if you wanted someone to cool you off, all you had to do was ask!"

He had been moving slowly closer, ignoring Draugur's growls. With a motion of his hand, the wolf stopped growling. He'd been muzzled. Once he got within arm's reach, Hanna decided to try and slap him again.

This time, Loki was expecting her to try something like that so he caught her left hand at the wrist, and when she tried to use her off hand to slap him, Loki caught it easily. With a thought, Loki locked Hanna's legs to the ground in a preventative strike to keep her from kneeing him.

Keeping his grip on her hands, Loki whispered in her ear with that sleek baritone of his,

"Where I'm from, there are punishments for slapping the prince." As Hanna tried (and failed miserably) to use her magic to burn his hands so he'd let her go, Loki just laughed at that feeble attempt saying, "And they are much worse than getting your hair set on fire."

Through gritted teeth, Hanna asked, "Why are you here? Don't you have better things to do than terrorize me and my brother's wolf?"

"Not at the moment. But I'm _really_ enjoying you standing this close to me."

Hanna kept her eyes on his face, determined to keep them from going any lower; but was having a difficult time doing just that. She really wanted to get out of the library and quick before she made a fool of herself. "Will you let me go now? I give you my word I will not slap you."

Shockingly, he let her go without an argument. The man really was infuriating!

As she turned around he suddenly said, "I think you'd make a good apprentice...Good job I need one!"

"You're joking...What makes you think _I_ would even want to be your apprentice?"

"You are in desperate need of control…" Loki started but Hanna interrupted him with a laugh, ""And you're going to teach me about control...God of Mischief?"

Deciding to try a different tactic, Loki asked in a casual tone, "I'm sure you have heard of what is done to people when their magic is out of their control."

Hanna's face turned ashen. She _had _heard of what was done to people in that situation. And it terrified her. Loki smirked before continuing,

"Now that I have your attention, your magic is out of control and you can barely get it to do what you want. I can give you all of that and more. All you have to do is say yes."

Hanna had to think fast. He would likely only make this offer once, and as much as she did not like him, Loki was the best available teacher.

Thinking carefully, she began with, "There's a very old saying: When the student is ready, the master will appear." Taking another deep breath, "I would very much like to become your apprentice."

At her consent, Loki teleported out with a smirk and a glimmer of green energy. A short time later, Draugur began whining again. He was now unmuzzled.

After soothing him for a while, Hanna silently thought to herself,

"_What the devil have I just gotten myself into?"_

###

"He did _What_?" Ragnar's eyes darkened to black with his anger. Draugur also shared his master's anger with a growl.

"You agreed to become his apprentice?" Her father also was not amused, but had years of experience to hide it. Then again, Sven also wasn't too surprised at how Loki asked his daughter.

Hanna had just finished telling the two most important men in her life what she had just agreed to doing. They were understandably perturbed.

Ragnar got up and was walking towards the open door, when it slammed shut, getting the attention of his two youngest children rather quickly. Sven didn't use his telekinesis often.

"Where do you think you are headed, Ragnar?" Sven had a pretty good idea where his son was headed, he just needed to hear his heir say it.

"I am going to go find that scoundrel of a prince. And educate him about how he treats my sister."

This time Ragnar got yanked back into his seat. Hanna kept her mouth shut, as she could tell that her father was going to be making a point.

"You cannot just go off and give someone a beating. Yes, there are better ways that Prince Loki could have asked Hanna to become his apprentice." Taking a deep breath, Sven continued, "I cannot say that I am surprised that he went that route. Ragnar, you have got to learn how to pick your battles. I am sure that there is a way for you to make it clear, without using your fists."

During the course of that conversation, Ragnar had calmed down, though he was still obviously irked.

Now that his son was not about to go off and _try_ to give Loki a beating, Sven turned back to his youngest daughter, "Hanna, if you were offended in any way, I am sure I could figure out a way for you to not be his apprentice without there being any repercussions."

Hanna was not too surprised. But her mind was made up as she spoke clearly, "No father. I was not offended. It was awkward, and there is a part of me that would rather not be his apprentice…" taking one more breath finishing, "He is the best available. I want to control my magic, and not have my magic control me."

Sven had watched his daughter as she said all of this. And Hanna had meant every word of it!

"So be it, Hanna. I just hope that you know what you may be getting yourself into."

###

The next few days were particularly quiet. No incidents of any kind. Though Ragnar always left the room whenever Loki entered it, not trusting himself to not give Loki the beating he felt the prince deserved.

As Hanna was getting ready to leave with the group from Asgard, Ragnar went to give his favorite sister a hug.

"_If Loki does anything foolish, all you have to do is let me know like this, and I'll come."_

"_I am not sure that my limited telepathy with you Ragnar is strong enough to reach across realms. Besides, I do not think he will try anything. At least nothing beyond what he has done already."_ Hanna thought back with a smile.

"_Since your mind is made up, let me give you this."_ When Hanna felt something cool in her hands, she looked down. It was a dagger that was thin closer to the hilt, and curved towards the top.

"_I am sure that you could find someone to teach you how to use it properly on Asgard._" Ragnar thought with a slight smile on his face.

Hanna gave her brother a tight hug. As she let go, her father came in and said with barely controlled emotion,

"It's time for you to take your leave. Your belongings will follow you within the next few days."

Hanna nodded at her father. And gave him a tight hug. After they let go, Sven said, "Good luck Hanna. I love you."

As she was about to take her step towards the door, Hanna turned and replied, "I love you too Father."

Then she said telepathically to Ragnar, _"Put the dagger in one of my trunks."_

With that she left, to face her destiny.

###

Sif finally got her first good look at Loki's new apprentice. The thought that entered her mind as the Bifrost was activated, was

"_Size is no definition of power." _

###

Hanna regretted having eating earlier. Nothing could have prepared her for travelling in that manner. Once she got her bearings, she looked around with wide eyes.

She was in Asgard, the Realm Eternal.

* * *

**A/N 2: Please tell me what you all think! There will be more interaction with the others in the following chapters. **


	5. Where We Start

**Chapter V: Where We Start**

**A/N: What a fun chapter to write. I would like to thank theicemenace for her beta work. She helps make writing things much easier. Enjoy the chapter my readers… ehehehe SSD**

* * *

A few days earlier in Asgard…

"_What do you think, my Queen?" Heimdall asked Frigga. They had been watching the events in the library._

"_It seems that my son, even in his search to find an apprentice, still finds a way to amuse himself in the process. He is lucky that her brother listens to her." Frigga smiled slightly at the girl who would soon be arriving in Asgard. _

"_It remains to be seen whether she will remain a pawn or become a queen." Frigga murmured as she left._

###

Loki watched the girl as she recovered from her first trip through the Bifrost. He hoped that she did not throw up. It would be her first strike if she did.

Shockingly though, Hanna managed to retain her breakfast. She still looked a bit unsteady on her feet but that was nothing to be ashamed about.

Figuring that he should probably make some semblance of caring, Loki asked, "How are you feeling?"

"I have had better days. I should _not_ have eaten as much as I did." Her feet were now much steadier and some color was returning to her face.

After nodding a greeting to Heimdall, Loki led Hanna to where some horses were waiting. Turning to her, he asked,

"You can ride, can you not?"

Giving him a dirty look, Hanna replied, "Of course I can." And with no help at all, she levered herself into the saddle.

###

A short time later, Hanna had been shown to her rooms. It was bigger than both her and Ragnar's room put together. Everything was done on a truly massive scale here in Asgard.

"_My father made the understatement of the millennia when he said everything was big here."_

After hearing a knock on the door, Hanna went over and opened it and a servant stumbled in with a huge stack of thick books her arms. Hanna steadied her saying,

"Let me help you with those books." As Hanna did that, she now knew why the servant was struggling these books. They were damn heavy!

"They are for you to read, my lady. Preferably within the next few days, according to Prince Loki," the young servant said without looking Hanna in the eyes.

Hanna took in the stack of books. There were five of them, and they looked like they were quite thick. If she gave up the luxury of sleep, she _might_ manage to read all of them in the specified time frame.

Smiling at the girl, Hanna said, "Thank you for bringing me the books…" Hanna then realized that the servant had not given her name.

"My name is Lucia, my lady."

"Thank you Lucia."

With that, the young servant girl left. Hanna had a lot of reading to do and not a lot of time to do it in!

###

As luck would have it, Hanna did manage to finish the books in the timeframe expected. She had only stopped to eat, perform her morning routine, and unfortunately sleep. It had been the longest she had gone without sleeping, about 36 hours.

After waking up in shock, Hanna got dressed, and stacked the books so she could take them back to the library. There had been a note in one of the books, giving her directions to the library from her room.

Struggling with the stack of books, Hanna finally got them under control enough for her to start walking.

On her way back from the library, with some books in her arms, Hanna heard two people talking. It seemed to be Loki and Sif.

"Now that you have gotten your apprentice when are going to start teaching her?" Sif asked.

Hanna was wondering that question herself. Why was he having her read all of these books.

"I am not going to teach her. The terms of the bet were for me to take on an apprentice. Overloading her with the books, most likely will make her give up."

"I think that you are underestimating how stubborn Hanna is."

Hearing footsteps towards the doorway, Hanna moved as quickly as she possibly could with a huge stack of books in her arms. She did not want to be seen.

###

It had been one week. One week of doing absolutely nothing but reading books and no learning of how to actually utilize her abilities. Needless to say, Hanna was getting rather irritated with Loki.

Hanna now knew that Loki had not truly wanted an apprentice. The situation was the result of a bet that he had lost with Sif. And judging by his behavior, the prince was doing everything in his power to try and make her give up and go home.

He obviously did not know who he was dealing with. She would have to show him that she was worthy of being taught.

"_But how to do that?"_ Hanna thought. _"How do I prove to him that I am worth the time and effort?"_

She tossed ideas around in her head all day, during breaks in her reading, each of them more ludicrous than the last.

Shortly before going to bed, one idea popped into her mind. It was arguably the simplest, but it would still require a great deal of planning. Also, it would land her in a great deal of trouble if the wrong people saw or overheard any part of it.

Hanna was going to attempt to manipulate the master manipulator. By using powers that had been used to topple everything from royalty to farm boys: feminine wiles or better known as "pretty girl powers".

###

Three days later…

Hanna smoothed her hands down the front of the dress she was wearing. Green with black accents, this dress was more suited to for a feast rather than every day wear. The reason for that being was that it was lower cut. It was not like some of the dresses Hanna had seen Astrid wear, but it would still get the job done. Whoever was sitting across from her would get an eyeful.

"_I cannot believe that I am going to do this. Then again this is a high risk, high reward idea."_

Hanna did have a few books to bring back to the library, so she had a reason for being in the library.

Taking a deep breath, Hanna picked up the books in her arms, and made her way to the library.

###

After returning the books to the librarian, Hanna went to the part of the library where she knew her instructor would most likely be located.

Sure enough, Loki was exactly where she thought he would be. His back was to the doorway, completely absorbed in the book. He had not given any indication that he was aware of her presence.

Smirking to herself, Hanna walked up and trailed her fingers across the back of his shoulders, making him jump in apparent shock.

With a purr in her voice, Hanna asked, "Might I have a word with you, your Highness." She walked around to sit on the other side of the table, leaning forward slightly as she sat down, giving him an eyeful.

Keeping the purr in her voice, but toning it down slightly, Hanna continued, "It concerns those books you are always having me read...they don't seem to be doing anything for me. I was think that maybe some hands on practice would be more useful to me." Hanna mentally smirked as she noticed his eyes dropping to her chest. _"How predictable,"_ she thought to herself. It did not matter that he was a prince of Asgard. He was still male. Getting up, she walked back around to where Loki was sitting, swaying her hips.

"There is only so much that I can learn from books." Hanna whispered in his ear while trailing the backs of her fingers up and down his arm. "I would be most grateful if that happened." She had a sultry smile on her face.

Swallowing audibly, and squirming slightly in his seat, Loki replied in a slightly strangled voice, "And how would you show that gratitude?"

With a smirk on her face, Hanna replied, "I am sure we can think of something agreeable to us both."

Looking at her up and down, Loki nodded his agreement. For the first time in a very long time, Prince Loki of Asgard had been rendered speechless. Feminine wiles had won the day. And she would be learning magic properly in the short term future.

Hanna strode from the room with a smile on her face. She had a feeling that she had just shown Prince Loki, just what he was dealing with.

###

What had just happened? The demure Vanir girl that was his apprentice had turned out to be quite the vixen.

Loki had the feeling that she had never really done something like that before when it hit him. The girl had just played him like a fiddle. She really was not going to do anything that she had implied. Hanna had everything to gain, and he had just given her what she wanted.

His first reaction was anger, then, as he slammed his fist into the table with anger, he felt another emotion, one he did not expect to feel. Loki was impressed. She had used her feminine wiles, to successfully beat him at his own game.

"_Perhaps the girl is worth teaching after all."_

###

Unfortunately, neither Hanna nor Loki realized that they had not been as alone in the library as they previously thought. Frigga had been going to see her son to ask him questions about when he was going to start teaching Hanna properly (she knew what her son was trying to do and hoped to talk him out of it) when she happened upon something she had not even thought she would ever hear.

It would seem that Hanna herself had taken matters into her own hands when it came to her tutelage. Perhaps she had caught wind of what Loki was trying to do. The girl was outright manipulating Loki. And it seemed to be working! Frigga was content to just listen and hear what the girl would do.

After Hanna had replied with, _"I am sure we can think of something agreeable to us both." _Frigga couldn't help but smirk. Even she could tell that Hanna had no intention of doing anything that her son may have in mind.

She heard the door open, and watched as the younger woman walked down the hallway, obviously pleased with herself. Frigga could hear a fist slamming down on the table. Loki had apparently figured out what Hanna had just done.

Frigga then saw a vision of the future…

_Hanna was in a suit of armor sitting on a bench. In one hand she held a hand and a half sword, in the other hand was a blue-green ball of flame. She had to make a choice between her two most important loyalties, but was unsure…._

Frigga had learned long ago that these were just possibilities, but the shock of the visions never fully left.

It would seem that Hanna would be around on Asgard for some time to come. She needed to speak to Hanna about a few things, and now was as good a time as any.

###

Hanna had been in a very good mood for the rest of the day. Nothing could take her down from the emotional high she was on.

This evening before going to bed, Hanna decided that she would try and work within the current limits of her abilities.

Holding her hands out towards the fireplace in her room, Hanna called to the flames, smiling as the flames encased her hands without burning. They had always been blue flames for some reason.

Focusing on the area between her hands, Hanna began working on creating a small fireball. This would take almost all of her focus to not have it go wrong. Distractions would be a bad idea.

Once she got it to the size of an orange, Hanna began playing around with the by floating it around the room. After doing a few circuits of the room, Hanna heard someone say from the doorway,

"So you _can_ do some magic without things going awry."

Spinning around in surprise, but still keeping the control of the fireball, Hanna saw a woman with reddish-blonde hair, with a regal bearing. Queen Frigga.

Quickly sending the fireball back into the fireplace and extinguishing her hands, Hanna bowed. She had no idea why the queen would come to see her.

Sensing that her presence was making the poor girl nervous, Frigga decided to get to the point quickly.

"I was in the library earlier today looking for my son. I _was_ intending to discuss with him his actions in regards to your apprenticeship. Imagine my surprise when I overheard you talking to him."

Frigga watched as the girl's face drain of color, then start to blush.

###

"_Oh NO. I can NOT believe what is happening. She heard everything?"_ Hanna was thinking frantically.

Gulping slightly, Hanna asked, "How much did you overhear, your Majesty?" hoping that the queen had not heard very much. Her hopes were to be dashed.

"I heard enough to hear that it sounded like you were trying to seduce my son."

Having a really bad feeling about where this was headed, Hanna cut in with,

"Your Majesty, I can explain everything!"

With a slight smile on her face, Frigga went on with, "Relax, Hanna. As amusing as it would be to hear you try to explain yourself, I am not here to scold you. I wanted to tell you good job."

Hanna could not believe her ears. She was not in trouble?

Still smiling, Frigga continued, "It has been a long time since someone has beaten Loki at his own game. I am reasonably certain that he will more than likely keep you around. Good night, Hanna."

With that, the queen left. Hanna slowly began breathing again. She would live to learn another day. And it could have been much worse, who had heard her.

###

Sleeping soundly for the first time in three days, Hanna still woke up that morning with the sunrise. Today she would wear a simple blue tunic and breeches. She was going to practice her magic today on her own if she had to, and the sleeves on her dresses were too long for her comfort.

She wondered if she would actually see Loki today. After the incident yesterday, Hanna was unsure if she could look him in the eyes.

Almost as if thinking about him had summoned him, Hanna heard Loki say behind her, "I realize that you were manipulating me to get what you wanted from me."

Hanna nodded at this and waited for the other shoe to drop. He was probably quite angry with her.

Tipping her chin up with his fingers so he could look her in the eyes, he continued, "If I was angry at you, you would know it already. On the contrary, I am quite amused."

Hanna grinned despite herself.

"Perhaps practical application would be a more efficient use of your time, but you still have to read those books. For understanding magic is equally important as knowing how to use it."

Walking away he said, "Come on. You want to learn how to use it practically or not?"

Hanna quickly caught up to him (not an easy feat as he was a good head taller than her at least) and followed him back to the library, excited that she was finally on the road to controlling her magic, instead of it controlling her!

* * *

**A/N 2: So… What did you all think? There's a reason why Hanna's plan worked so well, wanna guess? What do you think the precognitive vision is referring to? **


	6. Left Handed

**Chapter VI: Left Handed**

**A/N: Took a bit longer than I previously anticipated. I hope it was worth the wait. Thanks go out to theicemenace for her beta work. Enjoy the update! SSD **

* * *

Upon getting back to the library, Loki turned around and asked Hanna, "Is there anything you can do with your magic without chaos unfolding?"

"There is one thing I can do," Hanna replied.

Making a motion with his hand, Loki commanded, "Then show me."

Knowing an order when she heard one, Hanna focused on the fireplace, calling the flames to her. As her hands became covered in the flames that had turned a dark blue, Loki asked, "Are the flames always blue?"

Hanna nodded her reply. She _really_ needed to keep her focus. She began to form the small fireball. As it got to the size of an orange, Loki noticed that Hanna was beginning to slow down.

"Can you not make it any bigger?" He asked.

"This is the biggest I can make it without risking chaos." Hanna replied. Though she had always wondered if she could possibly make them larger.

"Try making it bigger." Loki commanded. Hanna needed to push her limits if she was to have any kind of true power at all.

Swallowing her fear, Hanna began pouring some more energy into the fireball, taking the energy from fire to make it bigger. Things seemed to be going smoothly for a change.

Until a few moments later, when the fireball was about the size of a grapefruit, and it took on a growth rate of its own. Before either of them could say anything, it grew to the size of a watermelon, and exploded with such a force that it blasted them to opposite ends of the room.

###

Loki got up first. After taking an appraisal of the damage, he noticed that some of the drapes were either on fire or horribly burnt. He put out the flames that were still burning, but conceded that those that were horribly burnt were write-offs. There would be no repairing them.

Upon hearing a muttered, "Oww" Loki turned in that direction. Hanna was in process of standing up. She was taking in the damage with wide eyes.

"I think we will be practicing outdoors for the foreseeable future. Practicing indoors with fire was not one of my better ideas." Loki said with a smirk.

Looking around and taking in the badly burnt drapes, Hanna said, "Sorry about the drapes."

"It is alright. I am certain that Mother will be as forgiving as I am."

As Hanna paled at that, Loki snickered before saying, "Don't worry. I did much worse things when I was first learning how to work magic. Come. We'll go outside to prevent a repeat of the burning drapes incident…"

Hanna did not need to be told twice. She followed him outside rather quickly.

###

That was the routine for the next several weeks which led into a few months: Practicing outside in mornings, getting her fireballs under better control and with her afternoons spent reading.

Loki had not brought up the incident that had knocked some sense into him in regards to the lessons. Hanna was quite grateful for that, as she was embarrassed that she had been caught, by the queen of all people. Though she was not so foolish to believe that he had forgotten it, she knew it would come around again.

The fire balls were now the size of melons, and Hanna could maintain two of them at once at that size without getting too drained. She could also make a third one, but it was still only the size of an orange.

As she was slowly getting the two fire balls spinning around, she heard Loki's voice behind her, "We're doing something different today. Follow me."

Turning around, she saw that he was leaning against one of the pillars. Or so it seemed. Hanna had been trying to tell whether this was actually Loki or one of his duplicates he would make of himself on occasion.

Deciding that she would eventually figure it out on her own, Hanna decided to follow him where he led. It was not like she could do anything else. She was curious to see what Loki had in mind for today.

###

As it would turn out, now that she could maintain the fireballs, Loki wanted her to practice throwing them. When Hanna looked at him in shock, he explained, "Your abilities lend themselves to being used to attack, you have to work on your aim."

Hanna focused in the air above her left hand, for some reason it was easier with that hand than the other. A short time later, the blue ball of flame was at its biggest sustainable size.

She looked to Loki for further instruction, who then said, "Well, throw it!"

Hanna took a deep breath and tried to throw it towards the target. Instead it went backwards! She could feel her face burning in embarrassment among other things. Hanna did not turn around and face Loki.

"You are lucky that I got a shield up in time." Loki muttered. He'd had a feeling that her aim was going to be bad to begin with, but not as bad as this.

"You do realize that the target is in _that_ direction?" Loki asked as he pointed down the range at the old arrow target that he had borrowed.

"I do." Hanna replied, making eye contact with him.

"Good. Now do that again and _try_ to at least get near the target down range," Loki ordered.

If there was anything that Hanna had learned about magic, was that repetition was key in learning how to use it properly. It was exhausting, but it seemed to be well worth it. Her magic was behaving itself (especially compared to how it used to be!)

###

About a week later, Hanna was hitting the target consistently. There were still a few fire balls that went haywire, but those were getting fewer and fewer.

There had been no close shaves with anyone getting harmed by her fire balls. Hanna was quite thankful for that!

She should have realized that things were going *too* well.

As she let a fireball loose down the range, of course Thor _had_ to come looking for Loki, and was walking in asking, "Brother I…" As he saw the fire ball coming right at him, he ducked and rolled to avoid it.

###

As Thor rose to his feet again, he took in the scene before him. His brother was laughing and Hanna looked completely mortified, her face was completely ashen.

Hanna opened her mouth to say something, but no words could come out of it. She had nearly set the crown prince of Asgard on fire, and Loki was laughing uproariously.

"_Brothers."_ Hanna thought, briefly allowing herself to roll her eyes before saying, "Your highness, I am _so_ sorry about that…"

"It is alright, Lady Hanna. It was an accident." Thor replied. A few moments later, Loki said, "That's enough for today. You still have some books to read by the end of the week."

Having a feeling that he wanted to talk to his brother, Hanna left quietly, making almost no sound.

###

"She seems to be becoming quite talented, Loki. It is hard to believe that she has only been here a few months."

Loki had not really kept too much track of the time. The days had a good routine to them. While Hanna was getting better, the fire balls were still going out of control far too often for his liking.

"_And more than likely, too often for her preference as well,"_ Loki thought. Hanna held herself to a high standard. His brother was talking about something, but Loki was not paying much attention.

Loki also had not forgotten how Hanna had gotten him to teach her properly. He had not said anything about it, for the moment anyway. The opportunity had not yet presented itself for him to mention it again.

And when it did, Loki was quite sure that Hanna would turn several different shades of crimson.

"So brother, when do we all get to meet your apprentice?" Thor asked.

"You just met her already Thor." Loki replied dryly.

"You know what I mean, Loki."

"Everyone will meet her when I am ready for them to meet her." Changing the subject Loki got Thor onto a discussion about a sparring match.

###

Several hours later, Hanna was still in the library reading. She had not even stopped to eat. The books she was reading were quite fascinating, much more so than the ones Loki had used to try to get her to give up on learning magic.

Hanna immediately stopped that line of thinking, knowing where it would eventually lead to. She should have realized at the time that they were not likely to have been as alone as she may have preferred.

"Studying late will not earn you any extra points with me, Hanna."

Not even looking up, Hanna replied, "I am reading late because I want to. Not out of any desire to try and impress you." She began to put the books away in the stack on the table that she had set aside as hers. Hanna _was_ getting tired.

Of course, this would be the time that he brought up what had happened a few months back. Loki began with,

"A short time ago, I was thinking about what you were implying you would do if I taught you correctly."

Hanna paled. This was exactly what she was afraid of. But there was nothing to do but brazen it out.

Laughing at how pale she had become, Loki continued on, "I am not going to collect on what you offered."

Hanna nearly breathed a premature sigh of relief before he snickered, "One day you will make good on your innuendos. And you will do so willingly."

Hanna had been making her way out the door before she replied, "In your dreams, God of Mischief." Though she could feel that her face was bright red.

###

Loki liked that she would fire right back at him something of her own. It was one of the reasons, he had made a show of picking her in the first place. Hanna would never be dull.

* * *

**A/N 2: So… What did you all think? You all didn't think that Loki would forget how Hanna got him, did you? ;) SSD**


	7. Thunder Tournament

**Chapter VII: Thunder Tournament**

**A/N: For anyone who has read the fanfic story Learn Me Right, the Thunder Tournament is being used with the permission of NeverQuiteAwake. And again, thank you theicemenace for your beta work. Enjoy the chapter! SSD **

* * *

Hanna was finally getting to sleep in slightly for the first time in over four months. Today was Thor's name day. And in honor of that day, there would be the Thunder Tournament. It would be held from midmorning to early evening. Warriors from all over the realms would be coming to participate.

Loki had given her today and the next day off from her lessons. She did not ask him why he was giving her the day after off, as she was grateful for the rest. He was an unrelenting instructor.

Hanna did not question his methods though. In the space of time that she had been on Asgard, her control issues were becoming fewer.

Just as she was about to get out of bed for the day, Lucia came in saying, "There is a man waiting outside your room, he claims to be your cousin."

Suspecting that there may some of Loki's mischief afoot, Hanna asked, "What does he look like?"

Lucia had a silly grin on her face as she said, "Tall, dark hair, grey eyes. He is wearing two scabbards on his back."

Hanna could not help but smile herself. There was only one person she knew that wore his swords like that. Her favorite cousin, who happened to be named for her father, except, he was called Sven the Younger.

Hanna bolted out of her room with a yelp of happiness and jumped up to hug her favorite cousin.

###

Sven was happy to see his younger cousin. His part of family had been unable to come to the Yule festivities due to issues with the weather. When he had heard that she would be getting training to control her magic, he had been pleased.

Though he had been none too thrilled when he had heard who her instructor would be. Neither had his mother. But beggars could not be choosers, since Hanna had a rare gift.

She did look a little paler than she had the last time Sven had seen her, which did not surprise him too much. A lot of magic had to be learned from books, so Hanna would likely be spending much of her time indoors.

"How have you been faring, Hanna? Your magic lessons must be taking up a significant amount of time." Sven asked.

Pushing her hair back over her shoulders, Hanna replied, "I am doing quite well. And the lessons are taking up much of my time. I go to bed tired every night."

"How is the prince treating you?" Sven continued with.

Hanna was not at all surprised that he had asked that question. She wondered who had put him up to it, Ragnar or her father.

Keeping that question to herself, Hanna said, "He is treating me about as well as can be expected. Prince Loki treating like any teacher would a student."

Her cousin still had a dubious look on his face before Hanna reassured him with, "He has not done anything inappropriate towards me, Sven."

Hanna neglected to mention what she had done that could be construed as inappropriate. It was embarrassing enough that the Queen knew about it.

Noticing what time it was, Hanna began to shoo him out of her room, telling him, "I need to get dressed for the day. And you need to get down to the pitch before the tournament starts. I will meet up with you before the first match."

Once her cousin left, Hanna went and started to get ready. She already knew which dress she would wear today. Even though she had thought she would never even_ think_ about wearing it again.

###

A few hours later…

Loki was prowling about the entrance hall waiting for Thor to arrive. It looked like his brother was going to be late as per usual.

To amuse himself, Loki decided to watch those who were either already in the stadium area or making their way there.

Upon seeing a flash of green, Loki saw Hanna talking to one of the contestants down in the lower levels. She seemed to know him as Hanna was talking rather animatedly, given that she was also using her hands as well.

The girl was also wearing _that_ dress. The one she had worn when she manipulated him rather handily. He was surprised that she was even wearing that dress again, as she had seemed thoroughly embarrassed by the incident in the aftermath.

As it was getting time for the tournament to start, Loki watched as Hanna gave the man a hug which was returned.

"_She really must know him well. I wonder how she knows him exactly?"_ Loki thought to himself.

Loki brought himself out of his thoughts just as Thor finally made his way to the entrance area. Unfortunately, Thor was not going to be dense today, as he saw exactly where his younger brother's eyes were.

"You really must be getting used to having her around, since you are finding her with your eyes so easily."

Not to be outdone, Loki shot back, "Your eyes found her quickly enough, Thor." And before his brother could cut in again, "We need to get inside. For once, we are not running late."

###

Hanna was enjoying watching the tournament. Her cousin Sven seemed to be doing rather well. She had been cheering him almost nonstop.

Hanna had also been using the tournament to observe the different fighting styles and the weapons used. Her cousin favored using two one handed swords, where she saw others with everything ranging from axes to broadswords to quarterstaffs.

Her cousin just finished a rather close bout with a member of the Einherjar and had won. Sven could rest for a short period of time before his next duel.

"You are doing well, Sven." Hanna said with a smile as her cousin drained a cup of water.

"I have been lucky with my opponents Hanna. That last one was the first I really thought that I could lose." Her cousin had been in various duels all day and was now in the top ten, and was barely showing signs of being worn out.

"Who do you think you will be fighting next, Sven?" Hanna asked.

"Well I was going to watch the next duel, as it will decide who my opponent will be. I'm not sure which one I would prefer to try my luck with."

Hanna nodded. It was getting to the point in the tournament where everyone was quite skilled. And skilled fighters could still cause damage, even with the blunted tourney blades.

"Who might you be fighting, cousin?"

Taking a deep breath before continuing, Sven said, "Either Fandral or Hogun. I am not sure I like my chances with either of them."

"I will still cheer for you, cousin. No matter how your next duel turns out," Hanna said with a smile.

Giving her a half smile, Sven nodded at Hanna. His attention returned to the duel in front of them. Upon noticing that Fandral had won, Sven muttered, "Damn it. Wish me luck Hanna."

Hanna reached up and hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek before saying, "Good luck, Sven."

With that, Sven smiled and left.

###

"Well wasn't that… touching." A voice said behind her. Loki.

Hanna rolled her eyes, but chose to ignore her instructor's statement. There was nothing wrong with what she had been doing. Sven was her cousin, nothing more. Though Loki did not seem to realize that just yet.

Turning around Hanna asked, "Loki. Are you enjoying the tournament?"

"As much as I ever do. Who were you talking to?" Loki got to the point quickly.

Giving Loki a sideways look, Hanna replied, "Just someone I know from back home."

Kicking himself for the fact that he was growing more curious about her, Loki took it further by asking, "How do you know him?"

"I have known him all my life, your Highness. Sven is my cousin." Hanna started her way back to her seat to watch the duel.

Loki could barely hear Hanna say to herself, "Be careful, Loki. I might start to think that you actually care."

###

Hanna was distracted by her own thoughts in the opening minutes of the duel. Loki's questions from moments earlier confused her.

Most of the time, even during her lessons, Loki would be keeping himself barely invested in the lessons. Then there were the times where his interest in her was curious, given his usual behavior.

This time, she was somewhat certain that she had been talking to a duplicate. Though Hanna would not have put it past Loki to use the duplicate in the royal box and then go out himself.

She knew he would never admit to it, as it would force him to concede a more than passing interest as to what she got up to.

Taking her mind off the maddening prince who was her teacher, Hanna turned her attention back to the duel.

For the first time today, her cousin seemed to be on the defensive almost from the start. Hanna did not know much about swordplay, but she knew enough that being on the defensive the entire time was not a good thing.

She knew that her cousin was a top notch swordsman. Sven would not have made it this far if he was not. But even to Hanna's untutored eyes, she could tell that her favorite cousin was going to lose, as he had said he likely would.

Sure enough, a few moves later, Fandral used a move that managed to knock both of Sven's single handed swords from his hands.

Holding his hands out to his sides, Hanna could lip-read that her cousin was yielding. She already could tell that he was thinking over how he would be able to beat Fandral the next time they met. Fandral seemed to say something to Sven, who nodded in reply.

###

Hanna made her way to where she knew her cousin would be located. Sven would be turning in the blunted tourney swords.

Sneaking up on him, she said, "You still did well, Sven. You made it a lot further than most did."

Her cousin turned around and gave her a small smile. "Fandral said that he looks forward to the next time we meet. And he suggested a rematch tomorrow when we've rested up."

"And after you sleep off all the wine I know that you will drink tonight?" Hanna had a slight smirk on her face.

Wondering if his cousin would be free the next day, Sven asked, "Is today the only day you have free from lessons?"

"No I have tomorrow free. I do not know why Loki let me off for tomorrow, but I am not about to complain."

As Hanna left to go back to her room, she suggested, "How about we meet around midday, so we have time to sleep off what we will likely drink tonight?"

They exchanged laughs, before going back to watch the rest of the tournament. Which Fandral eventually won, beating Volstaag.

###

The feast was in full swing. And Hanna seemed to be enjoying herself, Sven noticed.

She did seem to be happy here in Asgard, he had to concede. Sven was also watching for any hints of a flare-up like the one at the Yule celebrations that he had been forced to miss.

He grinned as he remembered reading that letter from his uncle for the first time. It had only been a matter of time before Astrid did something that would irritate Hanna enough to try something, even with her then touchy control.

Sven hadn't seen Hanna use her abilities in a while. Perhaps he would get to see her use them tomorrow. Sven supposed he should thank the person responsible for his cousin's newfound control.

"You're welcome."

Sven the Younger turned around, irritated that someone had managed to sneak up on him. He had not had so much wine that his senses would be dulled. It was the very prince that he was looking for. Bowing slightly, Sven said,

"Your highness. I was just about to go looking for you. To… thank you for helping my cousin." It was a bit harder to thank him than it should have been. It may have been easier if Loki hadn't had a smirk on his face.

* * *

**A/N 2: As for who has been cast as Sven the Younger, it is Luke Evans. Please tell me what you think! **


	8. Mimir's Well

**Chapter VIII: Mimir's Well**

**A/N: This chapter I will be playing with something from the mythology. I will be making some changes for my own purposes. Also, thanks go out to theicemenace for her beta reading! **

**Also on another note: ****Nothing****, I repeat nothing is going to happen between Hanna and Loki in Skyfall. Hanna will make good on her innuendos, just not in this story. **

* * *

Hanna was holding the dagger that her brother had given her back at Yule. It felt as if it had been longer than four and a half months.

Sven had left a week earlier, promising that he would give her father and brother news of the progress that she had made, taking care to make sure that her cousin had it correct and that she still had flare ups more often than either Loki or she would like.

They had not just talked. Her cousin Sven had given her some basic pointers on how to use the dagger without hurting herself.

Hanna was smiling at that particular memory when the dagger suddenly disappeared from her hands.

"Where did you get this?"

Quickly spinning around, Hanna saw who had spoken, as Loki now held her dagger in his hands.

"It is nothing of your concern. Now give it back!" Hanna tried to make a grab for the dagger.

Loki, making use of his height, easily held the dagger out of her reach. He then said, slowly and deliberately, "You need to tell me where you got this, or I could possibly assume that you stole this."

Indignant, Hanna shot back, "I did not steal this, my brother gave it to me shortly before I left."

Loki was silent for a few moments before asking, "Do you even know the first thing about using this?"

"Get them with the sharp edge," Hanna replied with a smirk.

Loki shrugged his shoulders. "That is the essence of it I guess," he said with a slight grin.

"Now that you know that I did _not_ steal it, can I have my dagger back?" Hanna asked, holding out her hand.

Loki did not give it back to her right away, as he seemed to be thinking something over. But he did give it back to her.

"It seems as if you will be having another day off from your lessons, at least for today. I am going on an excursion with my brother and some others."

Hanna nodded. She was not about to complain about another day off.

Of course he had to say as he left, "I still expect you to use your free time wisely. You have plenty of books to read by the end of the week."

Hanna had to suppress her groan.

###

Hanna was bored. Today had been a day that had been spent entirely in the library, as her instructor was off somewhere adventuring with his brother.

She had been reading for hours before finally finishing the first of two rather thick stacks of books that she had to read. Deciding that she would put them away now rather than later, Hanna got up and carried the stack around the library to put the books away in their proper places.

After putting the last book away, Hanna turned around and cursed silently. It would seem that she had gotten lost in the library. Again. Being in Asgard for nearly five months, had made this event less common, it was still something that happened far too often to her liking.

As she was about to make a left turn, Hanna saw something out of the corner of her right eye: A room that seemed to be glowing a strange blue light.

Her curiosity getting the better of her, Hanna made her way towards the door and shut it. Her eyes went wide as she realized what she was looking at: Mimir's Well. It could explain the past, clarify the present, or show the future. Or it could only show the reflection of the person looking in.

Hanna would have to be careful to leave no evidence of her presence in this room.

Biting her lip, Hanna peeked into the well. When she was about to turn away, she saw something,

_She was covered in ice and couldn't move. A feeling of complete and utter betrayal permeated her bones. She saw a glowing blue box with runes on it that seemed to be emanating ice with blue hands holding it. _

Hanna gulped. It would seem that the well was choosing to show her possibilities for the future. It wasn't done with her yet.

_From a raven's eye view, she saw a city in flames, with chaos and destruction reigning supreme. She could keep it from getting worse, she just needed to find its orchestrator._

The city was unfamiliar to her at the moment, but it must have been important to be shown as a possibility. The next possibility made her want to scream…

_She saw a battlefield. Most of her family lay in that field. All of them dead because of a single choice Hanna had made. A single horrible choice. _

Her throat was choked with emotion. But the well still was not through with her just yet.

_Her brother was sitting on her uncle's throne, with people bending knee to him. There was a sadness in his eyes as he took in the scene. She saw her cousin Sven, and his younger siblings Kara and Jakob along their mother, her Aunt Maila. She also saw her nephew Magnus and her sister Ingrid's husband Erik, who had a haunted look in his eyes._

_Then she saw herself, standing to her brother's left. Wearing a suit of armor and a sword on her hip. She had a similarly haunted look like Erik's._

Something truly horrible would have had to have happened for Ragnar to be on the throne. He was _that_ far back in the line of succession.

Pushing away from the well, Hanna left the room, and went back into the library, barely caring whether she ran into anyone or not.

###

Unfortunately, luck was not with Hanna as she stumbled her way back to the table. She, quite literally ran into somebody.

Blushing, Hanna said, "I beg your pardon…" Looking up she saw a kind face.

"It's alright Lady Hanna. I was not looking where I was going either."

Hanna took in the man who she had run into. He was as tall as either of the princes, but was built more like Thor. But there was keen intelligence in his eyes.

Remembering her manners, Hanna said, "I am sorry, but I don't recall catching your name."

"My name is Bergir. I have worked with your father in the past."

Hanna went through her mental recollection. Smiling, Hanna replied, "My father has mentioned you, my lord. He has mentioned your skill as a diplomat."

"Your father is quite skilled at what he does." They had been walking back towards where she had been sitting earlier. He then asked her, "Now what was it that had you looking like you had seen the ghosts of your ancestors?"

Hanna bit her lip at that. She had a feeling that looking into the well was something she was not supposed to have done, so she would give as much of the truth.

"I had some… I guess you could call them visions. They scared me. They all seem to hinge on choices. Choices that I may or may not make in the future."

Bergir seemed to be deep in thought, before saying, "Those that get visions often get caught off guard by them. But they are not always clear. In any of the visions did you see anyone besides yourself?"

"In two of them, I saw members of my family. In one of them I was there with them. The other one with my family, I would rather not talk about." Hanna hoped that Bergir would not find her being too rude. She did not even want to think about that third vision the well had shown her.

Knowing that the young woman was not going to divulge that information, Bergir backed off. From what he had observed, Hanna had inherited her father's stubbornness.

As he got up to leave, Bergir decided to give Hanna a piece of advice about the visions, "It does not do to dwell on possibilities, Lady Hanna. Whatever you saw, are only what _could_ happen."

With a slight smile Hanna replied, "Thank you, Lord Bergir."

"You are welcome, young Hanna." With a nod, Bergir left, leaving Hanna alone with her thoughts, before she too got up and left. It had been a long day indoors, Hanna hoped that she would find her way outside tomorrow.

###

Loki and the others had not gotten back till well past dark. It had been a long and tiring day, and Loki was looking forward to getting some sleep.

There had been something that he'd been thinking about over the course of the day. It would make sense for Hanna to combine her magic with a weapon of some sort, especially after he had found her with the dagger.

The simplest thing would be to find a teacher for her. Not any of the Warriors 3: Volstaag and Hogun's fighting styles wouldn't work for Hanna, and Fandral would be more interested in trying to get her into his bed.

And Sif would sooner eat glass than help him with anything. He also did not want to ask Thor for help in that regard.

Loki didn't want to share her with any of them, and they would likely give him unnecessary grief on the matter.

Who could he get to teach Hanna and would not give him ridicule for asking for help?

Loki mentally kicked himself for not thinking of it sooner. His mother would be the perfect teacher, provided she was willing to do it.

###

Loki watched his mother as she was working on a spell. It was a familiar one, though he had not seen her use it in a very long time. This was a spell that she had crafted with a specific purpose: to separate him and Thor when they were being unruly.

Before Loki could get his request out, his mother spoke first, not even looking up from what she was doing,

"When someone enters a room, they usually have a reason for entering it."

"Do I need to have a reason to come and see you?" Loki asked with a slight smile on his face.

"You never need a reason to come visit me, but I have a feeling that you want to ask me something important."

His mother was one of the few people that Loki did not beat around the bush with, so he asked,

"Hanna needs to combine a weapon with her magic to compensate for her lesser physical strength. I was wondering if you could teach her how to use a sword."

* * *

**A/N 2: I believe that Loki would show a softer side of himself towards his mother and perhaps not beat around the bush with as often if at all. **

**What do you all think of the visions of the future that Hanna saw in the well?**

**If you want to know what/who Bergir looks like, picture John Rhys-Davies in his role from In the Name of the King as the Magus.**

**Please tell me what you all think! **


	9. New Lessons

**Chapter IX: New Lessons**

**A/N: I'm back. This chapter is a longer one. Thanks go out to theicemenace for her beta work. And anyone else who was a sounding board, thank you. Enjoy the chapter. Ehehehe. SSD.**

* * *

It was not as if she would say no to her son when he asked her something like this. And it would give Frigga the opportunity to train Hanna with the kind of sword she had seen the girl with in her vision.

"Of course. When would you like to have her start?"

"As early as possible."

"Tomorrow then." Frigga replied with a smile. Hanna was going to waking up a bit earlier than she was used to, but it would be better to train her during the early hours, so as to avoid curious eyes.

She wondered how Hanna would react to the early morning wakeup call.

###

The next morning…

Hanna woke up to a persistent knocking on the door to her room. The sun had not even risen! Groaning, she rubbed her eyes, got up and answered the door. It was a member of the Einherjar.

"What is it?" Hanna asked, suppressing a yawn.

"You are to report to the tiltyard within ten minutes. Do not be late."

This piqued Hanna's curiosity. None of her lessons had taken place down there, as Loki did not want her distracted by anything, much less the constant clanging of swords.

She got into a pair of black trousers, with a dark blue tunic shirt; they were in her family's colors. It made her feel closer to them.

Suspicious that there was some of Loki's mischief afoot, Hanna decided to bring her dagger along with her, for a small comfort, concealing it in her left boot.

###

Upon getting lost, (again, but she had never been anywhere near the tiltyard so that should earn her some kind of slack from Loki) Hanna finally found her way to the tiltyard. She was a few minutes late, and was not looking forward to the chastising she would get from Loki.

"You are late, young Hanna."

Slightly startled, she turned around and saw the queen in front of her. She had two wooden practice swords in her hands.

"I beg your pardon, your Majesty. I got lost." Hanna was eying the swords with curious eyes. They looked to be the length of hand and a half swords.

While she was eying them, Hanna became aware that one of them had been tossed at her. A few seconds too late, Hanna fumbled catching the sword, dropping it to the floor.

"Tomorrow, you are going to catch that on the first try."

Picking up the sword, Hanna quickly replied, "Yes, your Majesty."

Waving her hand, the queen said back, "Call me Frigga. We are going to be spending a lot of time together." Getting back to business, "Now let's get to work on your stance…"

That went on for the next few hours, going over some basic forms. Hanna had a feeling that she was going to have a lot of bruises before the day was through.

###

Hanna was moving rather gingerly as she made her way to her magic lessons after getting cleaned up. She now had some idea how her brother and cousins went about their training with their weapons of choice.

Slowly moving, Hanna sat down lightly on a bench and waited for Loki. She knew now where he had gotten some of his teaching methods, since Frigga had utilized similar ones for her training with a sword.

"How are you feeling this morning Hanna?" she heard Loki asked from behind her.

She could practically _hear_ the smirk in his voice. Turning around as much as she could without too much pain, Hanna replied,

"I hurt in places that I did not know I had, Loki." Hanna had a tight smile on her face, as she started to get up and follow him. It was quite obvious that she was in pain and sore.

"Tomorrow you are going to be feeling even worse," Loki said with a grin. "Come on. Your day is not anywhere near being over."

Hanna barely suppressed a groan. Never had she looked forward so much to her afternoons spent reading in the library!

###

Sure enough, after the second day of training with the queen, Hanna in fact _did_ feel worse. She could barely move to get cleaned up for the day.

The bath helped a bit with her sore muscles, so she would be able to move minimally, provided that her instructor would show her a small amount of kindness and not have her doing too much moving today.

The queen had noticed that her student was moving gingerly and had assured her that in time, she would get used to the activity.

Like the previous day, Hanna moved as slowly as she could tolerate. She needed to get to her lessons with Loki, so she would not run late.

###

Loki watched the girl edge her way in. Like the previous day, her pain was more than apparent. She had to be feeling horrible.

"Today you are going to try something different. Try to generate a fireball over your right hand," he commanded.

She seemed pleased that what she was doing would not involve too much moving around.

After a few moments, a few fireballs appeared. They were about the size of shooter marbles.

###

Hanna bit her tongue to suppress her disgust. After all that effort, only three fireballs that small?

She was fuming with herself so much, that she nearly missed Loki saying, "Come here."

Turning towards him, as quickly as she could stand, giving him a suspicious look the whole time.

"I am not going to hurt you, just get over here!" Loki commanded exasperatedly. Once she got there, he instructed, "Now lean into me."

Hanna gave him a disbelieving look. Did he think she was that stupid? And her traitorous mind liked that idea far too much!

"Trust me it works. Get on with it."

As Hanna did as she was instructed, her mind immediately began to wander. This felt really good!

"_Oh no you don't! Do not even go down that path!"_ Hanna tried to instruct her mind to stay on task. It was easier said than done!

To keep her mind on task, Hanna recalled all the times Loki had annoyed her in the time that she'd known him, starting with tricking her into dancing with him by shape shifting into Ragnar. Immediately, her mind cleared of things she refused to think about.

"_Well that worked."_ Hanna thought to herself as the fireballs over her right grew to the size of oranges with a small amount of effort and she did not feel drained at all!

###

Loki did not like being touched, with a few exceptions, herself included. Here he was actively inviting the touch of another. It made Frigga smile.

Hanna was certainly going to make life more interesting.

###

As the next couple of months flew by, Hanna did find herself getting more used to physical activity. No longer having trouble moving each day, Hanna was blocking the queen's hits more often than not. She had not landed many on Frigga.

Once she got to her room, Hanna looked up and a noise of pure happiness came from her mouth as she forgot that she needed to get cleaned up for her magic lessons, when she saw her brother for the first time in months.

After a few moments of hugging, Hanna asked, curiously,

"Ragnar what are you doing here?"

Looking at his sister, Ragnar asked with shock clearly in his tone, "Does a brother need a reason to see his favorite sister on her name day?"

Hanna covered her face with her left hand. She had a feeling that she had forgotten about something this morning, but could not remember what it was.

"How can you forget something like that?"

"I have been busy little brother. The time that I have spent here really has gone by quickly. Also, it has not really been on my mind." Hanna did give Ragnar a smile.

Smiling back at Hanna, Ragnar reached into the bag he had with him and took out a flat box, placed it on a table, and said, "Happy name day, Hanna."

"What is it?" Hanna asked.

"A gift from our father. All I know is that it is something that used to belong to our mother."

Hanna opened the small latch on the lid, and gasped slightly. It was _the_ necklace: The necklace that was the focus of one of her memories of her mother.

It also held the dubious honor of being the necklace that she and Astrid had fought over at Yule.

"I did not tell him that you and Astrid fought over it at Yule. Then again, father always seems to know those kinds of things, even if we do not tell him about the events."

Hanna tried and failed to suppress a snort of laughter at that. It was all too true. She was tracing the sapphires and diamonds with the tip of her finger, completely focused.

Ragnar then noticed that there was a sword on her hip. Motioning to it, he asked, "Care to explain that?"

Hanna was prepared for the question, so she replied as matter of factly as she could, "I need to combine my magic with a weapon to compensate for my lesser physical strength."

"Understandable. Who is teaching you?" Ragnar was genuinely curious about that matter.

Hanna was making her way to the bathing part of her quarters, when she replied, "Queen Frigga is."

She did not need to turn around to know that her brother was surprised.

###

When she was done getting dressed, Hanna noticed that Ragnar was testing the heft of the hand and a half tourney sword.

"This is a bit lighter than what I am used to," he stated as he returned the sword to its scabbard.

"I am smaller and lighter than you," Hanna replied with a grin.

"Since it is your name day, perhaps you would be willing to skip your lessons?"

Turning around, disbelief clear in her tone, Hanna scoffed, "You must be joking. If I skipped a lesson, it would not end well for me. Perhaps you could come along and watch. Provided you can behave of course. I can tell that you do _not_ like the idea of me being alone with him."

"Of course I can behave!" Ragnar declared.

Hanna looked at her brother for a moment, deciding whether it was worth it, to risk an altercation, physical or verbal between the two.

"_I hope you can. Come along then."_ Hanna replied telepathically to her brother. _"And do not mention that it is my name day!"_

Holding his hands up in acquiescence, Ragnar replied, _"As you wish."_

###

Hanna was running slightly late for her lessons.

Of course as soon as he had finished that thought, Loki heard a familiar cadence of steps followed by an unfamiliar one. Hanna had brought someone along for her lessons. Looking up, Loki saw that her brother was apparently here for a visit.

Today would be fun. Ragnar would be particularly easy to get a rise out of by baiting him. But how to do that?

As he gave Hanna instructions of what to do, Loki saw that Ragnar was watching his every move in regards to where Hanna was. Hanna herself would be the perfect way to bait the younger man. But he would bide his time, waiting for the most opportune moment.

After about an hour or so, Loki found an opening to start on Ragnar.

"Stupid wench. I have shown her more than enough times, but she just does not grasp it. That's what I get for taking on an apprentice that isn't smart enough." Hanna was actually quite a competent apprentice. Then again, lying was part of his game.

Ragnar was tightening his fists on the railing in front of him. He was trying to keep his temper in check. It seemed that Loki knew the main way to get him ticked off.

"_Ragnar, don't do this. Don't do anything stupid. Getting a rise out of you is what he wants!"_ Hanna hissed telepathically. But Ragnar was not listening to his sister. Doing his best to stay as calm as possible, Ragnar snarled,

"How dare you insult my sister, when _you_ were the one who sought her out in the first place?"

Loki just had a calm smile on his face. He had pulled it off.

"I _told _you he was just trying to get a rise out of you." Hanna did not even turn around as she drawled that. "And you just gave him exactly what he wanted, am I not correct, your Highness?" Hanna had a saccharine smile (if one was not being picky) on her face.

"All part of the game, Hanna." Loki had a similarly toothy grin on his face. "Your brother is quite easy to bait."

Ragnar was visibly fuming. Hanna knew that her brother was intelligent and that her father was starting to teach him how to play the game of politics.

To save himself some face, Ragnar ground out, "All I was doing was defending my favorite sister. You cannot find fault with me doing that."

"And I appreciate it, little brother. But there are battles that I can fight on my own." Hanna had been walking up to where the men had been standing, to give her brother a hug.

Then to her complete surprise, Loki suggested, "You have the rest of the day free from your lessons to spend time with your brother."

Giving her instructor a suspicious look, Hanna said, "There is going to be a catch here, so just come out and say it."

"You will be spending tomorrow indoors to make up for losing today. Now get on." Loki left as he said that.

"Complicated, isn't he?" Ragnar asked his sister.

"You have no idea." Hanna muttered. "Come on. I'll show you one of my favorite places here."

###

"You cannot be serious. The library?" Ragnar whispered disbelievingly. Odin alone knew how much time she spent in there reading now.

"Little brother, you know how much I like to read," Hanna replied with a smile.

"When was the last time you read purely for pleasure and not for learning?" Ragnar asked back.

Hanna stopped for a moment before saying, "It's been a while. Loki has me reading so much."

Taking a deep breath Ragnar conceded, "Whatever he has been doing to teach you, it seems to be working. Your magic is obeying you now more often than not."

"One of the reasons that my magic was so often out of control when I used it, is that my emotions were charged up at the time. A key to using it properly is having my emotions under as much control as possible." Hanna said to her brother, remembering one of the first actual bits of instructions from Loki.

Shaking her thoughts back towards her brother, Hanna smiled saying, "Come on. I have other places I would like to show you and not a lot of time to do it."

She spent the rest of the day showing her brother around Asgard. As Ragnar got ready to leave, Hanna turned to him and said with a wide smile, "Tell father thank you for the necklace. And send him my love."

"I will dear sister. And I will try to come and see you again." Ragnar hugged Hanna and left.

She went to bed with a smile on her face.

* * *

**A/N 2: So what did you guys think of Ragnar's visit? And of how Loki helped Hanna with her magic? I hope you enjoyed the update. I'm thinking of things to do for Loki's birthday/nameday. I am also open to suggestions. SSD**


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